As an aid worker, there’s one question I get more than any other, both from people I know and people I don’t. It’s some variant on “So, what should I do if I want to become an aid worker?”

I don’t actually mind being asked this question. It’s great that people are interested in this line of work. Clearly there’s a perception that working in the aid profession is either meaningful, or interesting, or some combination of both. The answer isn’t straight-forward though, and takes a while to answer, so I thought I’d put down the main principles of what it takes to be an aid worker on my blog, which I could direct people to when they ask.

Please note that this five-part series is written largely for the audience who primarily asks this question, namely people (usually but not exclusively younger) living in Western nations who want to help overseas. For my readers from non-Western nations, getting employment with an international NGO is quite a different prospect. If you have specific questions about this, please feel free to add a comment after any of these posts. Likewise this does not target those who wish to volunteer locally with an NGO in their area of residence. This is usually a much easier process so contact the local branch of the charity you’re interested in for more information.

Please also note that this is not a guide to getting a job within the aid industry. You need to talk to a careers advisor for that, or make some time to talk to an HR officer within an aid agency. That said, at the end of this 5-part series I will post a series of links to some resources that may be helpful. There will be other links scattered throughout the series that provide additional information or debate on some of the points raised which I would recommend you browse if you’re serious about taking this forward.

To others within the aid community, if you have other thoughts or resources you want to share on this theme, I’d welcome your input in the comments sections below each post, as I hold no monopoly on information in this sector. Thanks for your time.

PS- Sorry, but no, I can’t get you a job with an aid agency. It’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just not what I do…

Becoming an Aid Worker, Part 1. Know What You’re Getting Yourself Into

The idea of aid work has a lot of romance attached to it, particularly in the Western world. In the Gen-X/Gen-Y worldview, its identity sits neatly in the nexus of a value-driven, unique vocation which allows travel all over the world and lots of amazing experiences. Kind of like a perennial gap-year which you get paid for.

This isn’t an accurate reflection. While aid work has the humanitarian imperative (the need to help others) at its core, working in an international NGO can be as much about working out how to compromise values as how to uphold them. It can be unique, but at times it can be like any other desk-job, replete with emails, deadlines, reports and administrative systems. For every amazing experience, there can be months and even years of office-based tedium. Your chances of soaking in the warm glow of being thanked by a horde of grateful villagers for saving their collective lives is extremely low. And if they do, they’ll almost certainly hit you up with a shopping list of all the things they want done in their village right afterwards.

I don’t want to make it sound like being an aid worker sucks. I love it. I’ve had incredibly enriching experiences. But I’ve also had some bitterly painful, frustrating and dissapointing ones, ones that have shattered my ideals and come close to breaking me. It’s important to approach this career with this in mind.

Realists, welcome. Idealists, beware.

If you are an educated westerner seeking employment with an international aid agency, you will almost certainly have one of three broad roles. An office-based support role. An office-based manager. Or a technical expert.

Almost anything else- from skilled tradesmen to field workers to project implementers- will be drawn from local staff. Local staff work for local wages (we don’t need to employ your two graduate degrees to be handing out grain sacks, nor do we need to export your carpentry skills into a chaotic emergency when there are hundreds of skilled carpenters available locally all scrambling to rebuild their livelihoods). Hiring local staff builds local skills and contributes to local economies. And local staff have the social and cultural access that makes them better able to do the work. If hiring you is going to deprive somebody local of an income, who can do the job just as well and for less money, you won’t be getting the role.

Being an aid worker, like many other professions, has giddy heights, deep lows, and long periods of intense boredom in the meantime. Be prepared for this.

If you have romantic memories of the time you did a voluntourism trip to Costa Rica and helped build a school, shelf them. If you’re expecting to be handing out sacks of food to happy smiling brown people, get your facts straight. And if you’re looking for a perennial paid gap-year experience, please stay at home. Aid work is a profession.

Thanks Stephen for your feedback and for the resource link- very helpful.

I absolutely think there are more reasons why people romanticize aid work (possibly the subject for a separate post?), including, as you say, the way aid orgs market themselves and their staff (after all, how often do you see a local Malian aid worker given a double-spread in a donor magazine vis-a-vis an Australian one…?) Maybe it’s a hangover from missionary days, colonial tales of [mis]adventure, Kipling and Stanley, and the rest. Coupled with a good and very healthy human tendency in many people to help one another.

I guess it really kind of depends on what one’s understanding of the scope of “humanitarian aid” is.

Are the only people worthy of aid those who belong to a specific “impoverished” demographic? What metrics does this group have to be inside of? Is there any tolerance for falling out of adherence?

And what does “humanitarian aid” mean? This would definitely include the providing of various essential corporeal needs. But I would also argue that it should include the very real necessity of love. Like, someone communicating, “Hey, I think you’re worth going out of the way for.” It can be a thousand miles, across town, or down six office doors. You can give a crate of food to someone, but they can tell if you’re doing it because your a hired gun, or because you have a heart for their restoration. Same applies to situations with a co-worker, friend, spouse, etc. Is it being done as a requirement, or because you are concerned about their well-being?

I do also fully acknowledge the wisdom of Ghandi in his quote, “There are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”

But all things considered, I would argue that everyone fits into the “impoverished” demographic and is in need–often desperately–of one or more things that give and sustain life. In this light, humanitarian aid can then be doled out to your co-worker, checker at the store, or wherever. The trade of universal humanitarian aid is one that can be plied wherever there are people.

I do believe all the ideas you have introduced to your post. They are really convincing and will certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are too quick for novices. May just you please lengthen them a little from next time? Thanks for the post.

I am a South African and I really want to become an aid worker. I already dosome volunteer work through out my school year. I have to decide what I want to go study after school. I was thinking of sosiology? Would that help me get a job in this field?

Hi Lara, thanks for your message and great that you want to get into the aid industry. I think the thing to bear in mind with aid work as a career is what I highlight here- agencies look for a balance of things in an aid worker- relevant experience, relevant qualifications, the right personality- and increasingly, professional competency too. So absolutely, a degree in something like sociology is going to move you in the right direction- though it won’t ever be enough on its own. It’s great that you’re in SA- there are heaps of NGOs operating there, and loads of relevant field work opportunities right on your doorstep. I’d say if you’re genuinely keen to work in this industry, get as much experience (voluntary, and if you can, paid work with local NGOs too) and networking time (get sent to NGO meetings, get to know NGO staffers in your area) as you can throughout your study period. I’d suggest you ask yourself what type of ‘aid work’ you want to get into, and what sort of job you want to do with them. Broad degrees like sociology, social work, geography, even development studies- unfortunately these are all quite common, so to get employment in an aid agency you need to make yourself stand out somehow (i.e. really relevant experience, a master’s degree, etc.). On the other hand if you knew you wanted to do medical aid work, or get into logistics, you can specialize a little more. I guess it comes down to what you want to do and what your vision is. Try and get a bit more NGO experience, see how they operate, and figure out where you think you fit. Finally I’d say great that you do voluntary work- but when you do this sort of work, be as strategic as you can be. If, for example, you know that you want to work in emergency response work, then doing voluntary work at a local HIV/AIDS clinic probably won’t move you very far in the right direction (it won’t hurt, but it won’t get you all the way). On the other hand if you can connect to an organization that gets more involved in malnutrition, or food distribution, or something a bit more emergency-focused, that could give you a hand. If you get the chance to do some work cross-border, say in Zim or Mozambique, there’s loads of stuff going on out there that could be relevant and would boost your CV points as well. You’re in a great geographical location compared to most prospective aid workers I speak to, so try and make the most of that, be strategic, get some good contacts, and good luck! 🙂

This must seem a cliche to you , but neverthless have been perusing the net far and wide for some answers and this i feel is the most likeliest place i could get a good answer from. Sorry for the theatricalicty- I am a bit sleepy.

I am from India. I am a computer science engineer with nearly 4 years of experience in the IT services industry. You might classify me as the HEARTBROKEN motive type from that satirical movie/book i forgot the name of. I realised at the age of 23 that i cant have kids. Did not mention it as a sob story but the situation kind of directed me to a pah of introspection. After a great long time trying to find a purpose to my life, i decided on taking up International Aid as a profession. It is not an impulsive decision. I was always a people person, some one who friends/family look up for advice, a problem solver . I have seen and experienced some heart wrenching scenes of utmost poverty and have tried my best to alleviate whatever i could.

I would like to dedicate whatever is left of my life to empowering and sharing whatever i learned with the needy while making a modest living out of it. I understand that this might sound to you as a very naive statement to make. But, could you help me transition into such a career?? Any advice, any remarks, any criticisms about attitude welcomed with an open mind.

Again sorry if i sounded a tad too smug or tried to lighten up the mood one too many times, it is just because i am feeling sleepy.

I am only seventeen, but I want this career path more than anything and I have for a while. I am desperate to find an entry to being an aid-worker and I would appreciate any help to move foward to do that.